2023-06-17 05:23:00
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8 h 35 : The grain agreement and prisoner exchanges on the menu of discussions between Putin and the African delegation
After the rejection on Friday by Volodymyr Zelensky of negotiations with Russia, little concrete progress is expected during the meeting between Vladimir Putin and the African delegation, which is continuing its mediation between the two parties.
Exchanges of prisoners are nevertheless envisaged, explains France 24 correspondent in Moscow Julian Colling. African leaders also hope to secure guarantees on the grain deal, which allows Ukrainian exports, from which Moscow has threatened to withdraw.
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7:10 am: the African delegation expected in Saint Petersburg for a meeting with Vladimir Putin
After meeting Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday in Kyiv, a delegation of African leaders, which is leading a mediation mission between Ukraine and Russiais expected in Saint Petersburg, in the northwest of the country, where she is to meet with Vladimir Putin.
This mission is led by the South African Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa, Senegalese Macky Sall, Zambian Hakainde Hichilema and Comorian Azali Assoumani, at the head of the African Union since February, as well as Congolese, Ugandan and Egyptian representatives.
The diplomatic team traveled to Kyiv to voice the concerns of a continent that has suffered from the fallout from the Russian invasion, particularly from rising grain prices. The South African president insisted that “peace must pass through negotiations”.
This mediation comes in the midst of a Ukrainian counter-offensive with an intensification of fighting on the ground and repeated Russian bombardments of major Ukrainian cities. This is the latest in a series of unsuccessful diplomatic efforts. The African mission, weakened by the last-minute defection of some of the participants, nevertheless looks delicate.
Criticized for its closeness to Moscow, South Africa has refused to condemn Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine, claiming to hold a neutral position and want to favor dialogue.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday dismissed the mediation offer presented to him by a delegation of African presidentsdenouncing a “deception” by Moscow in the midst of a counter-offensive by Ukrainian forces.
“Allowing negotiation with Russia now, when the occupier is on our land, means freezing war, freezing pain and suffering,” he said at a joint press conference with African leaders. .
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, in its daily update, has also stressed that if the Ukrainian army came up once morest the air superiority and the firepower of the Russians, it obtained “tactical successes” in the south.
The delegation led to kyiv by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had offered to mediate before going to Russia. “There must be a de-escalation on both sides,” said Cyril Ramaphosa.
From St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin for his part assured that the Ukrainian counter-offensive had “no chance” of succeeding, and that Western countries would be forced to return to him, on his terms. “And we’ll see when and what we can talk to them regarding,” he said.
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